Dicky Laz

Hi there, still anxiously waiting. So far no news from HDB on the key releases..

Zio, I gotten my living room fan but will be getting my bedroom fans soon. I bought mine from Tampoi Lighting..

I'll try to upload some pics later ya..

Hi iluvmybeans, are you referring to the interior of the unit?

Here are the first draft of 3D: Living Room Kitchen Study/Wardrobe Toilet

Based on the initial quotation from Posh Home, I met up with my ID to discuss further on the details before proceeding into the 3D drawing. Theme: I'm leaning towards Modern Contemporary for my living and bedrooms. For my kitchen, it's gonna be Industrial. For toilets, it's a mixture which I don't really know belongs to which theme... Haha Fittings: Initially I thought of going for Excel fittings and soft closing but according to my ID, Blum prices are not far from Excel but I do know of some ID that charge a premium if you wanna go for Blum so Blum it is for my entire kitchen. Electrical: Since Posh Home ties up with Eubiq and I got a good price, I'll be using their tracks for mainly kitchen, study area and master bathroom. Laminate: My ID intro me to a few brands but one caught my eye. It's Berry laminate. Real wood laminate with water resistance and lifetime warranty and I get a cheaper than market price through my ID! Their website: http://www.berryalloc.com/cn/en Lightings: I'll be getting some of my stuff from Taobao coz it's cheap! Most if not all my lights will be from Taobao. T5 LED tubes, LED downlights, LED strips, sensor motion lights and ceiling lights. Ceiling Fan: This one is a no brainer, get ceiling fans from JB. I'm going for KDK fans so it is half the price in JB compared locally. Switches and electrical sockets: This is also gonna be from Taobao. Stay tuned for the next update, my 1st draft of 3D drawings....

To continue on my ID hunt, these were the IDs and contractors I met up with or at least ones that's worth mentioning: - Rezt & Relax Pro: Established & big firm, IDs knowledge not bad, lifetime warranty on carpentry (not really useful as we won't be staying that long) Con: Abit pushy, assigns associate to liaise with you rather than the ID, very pricey - Plush Living Pro: Established & big firm, have all the high-end products Con: IDs knowledge so-so, super pricey, ID likes to push for redundant things - Image C_r_e_a_t_i_v_e (Not sure why I can type their name in here, it will be censored off) Pro: Established & big firm, IDs knowledge not bad Con: Very pricey, ID meet u initially then pushes his associate that know nuts after which to follow up with you and he pushes you to the max - Mr K from H2O Interior Design Pro: Very famous in Renotalk, many recommendations from Renotalk Con: Quite pricey, doesn't talk much, slow in response - Mr K from Ideal House Pro: Very famous in Renotalk, many recommendations from Renotalk Con: Super bz, no follow up - Alan from Aian Contractor Pro: Quite known in Renotalk, prices supposedly to be cheaper than ID Con: Super bz, slow follow up, prices quite pricey for a contractor, doesn't talk much, needs constant reminding and pushing - Calvin from Posh Home Pro: ID knowledge very vast and gives good suggestions and ideas Con: Initial impression was that the quotation is gonna be pricey (turns out otherwise) In comparison with the other IDs and contractor, Calvin from Posh Home was chosen due to the following factors: Very good knowledge in designs, themes, materialsPatience in dealing with my fussy requests.. hahaGood chemistry Outstanding workmanship (been to 3 of his completed projects)Is the distributor of some products such as Berry Laminate, Bosch, Teka, Eubiq, etc..Price is the most reasonable among all I've metIs never too bz to entertain me with my queries and questions

Heya Zio, Piggy, nice to see you folks here.. Been bz lately so no time to update, now telling myself to do it...

Now comes the exciting or rather challenging part of owning a new house.... The renovation! Well, as a typical "kiasu" Singaporean, I started researching about reno as soon as we signed the agreement with HDB back in 2011. I studied about themes, materials, workmanship and how to buy stuffs online/from JB to minimize reno cost as much without compromising quality and outlook (very challenging)... Whenever I pass by an electrical store, I'd definitely stick my neck in to find out the latest models of TV, fridge, washing machines, etc.. In 2013, I started meeting up with IDs and contractors and trust me, this is the most tiring and challenging part of the whole reno process. This is my floorplan: My guess is that the designers and architects focused so much on the project exterior that they just do a cut and paste for the internal layouts. My take on the internal configurations: Pros:- I get a balcony- The balcony is a connector for the living room to my 1st bedroom Cons:- The balcony despite being long connecting 2 spaces, is only 70 cm in depth!- No way I can hack to make an open concept kitchen as the entrance is guarded by the main door and HHS on both sides- There's a weird angle in the master bedroom - There are 2 discharge pipes in the service balcony on both sides (just found out after our neighbors at Waterway Terraces 1 got their houses) There's lots of other cons that saddens me to put it here but oh well, having a house is better than nothing right...

We got ourselves a 4room unit but didn't manage to get the main waterway view but as a consolation, we got a unit on the 14th floor and it's facing the back part of the waterway (doesn't really matter as it's not everyday we'll appreciate the view). But the best part is it is unobstructed meaning lots of wind!! The exterior of the artist impressions were really breathtaking:

It had been a super-long awaited project and finally the journey to be proud home owners is closing in... It started out in 2011 when I came across an iconic bto project launched by HDB called Waterway Terraces 1 in Punggol and was amazed by the concept of this project. Wifey (back then still gf), was also astonished by it but sad to find out that it was launched a few months back but guess what. . . . the following month, HDB launched a replica project called Waterway Terrace 2!! We didn't hesitate to apply for it when HDB launched it's sale and we got a unit there! In short, we've been waiting avidly for the completion of this "never-ending" project and finally HDB updated their website for the PCD to be end of June. Well, creating this blog to reminisce the journey of our soon to be home...